18세기 조선왕실 화장용 자기의 특징과 수용 과정

The Characteristics of Porcelain Cosmetics Containers and Their Acceptance at the 18th-century Joseon Royal Court

2015년 발견된 화협옹주묘에서는 전체 49건 93점의 부장품 중 영조가 지은 묘지석과 빗, 먹, 청동거울을 포함한 화장용기 일괄이 출토되었다. 청화백자에는 분, 연지 등으로 추정되는 유기물이 온전하게 남아있어 이들은 같은 시기 왕실무덤에서 공통적으로 발견되는 소형 백자류의 성격을 규명함과 동시에 조선후기 화장문화를 밝힐 수 있는 중요한 자료이다. 화협옹주묘 회곽함에 매장되어 있던 백자 화장용기는 12건으로 분원산 1점을 제외한 나머지는 모두 중국과 일본에서 제작된 것이다. 얼굴을 곱게 꾸미는 ‘단장’이라는 행위의 성격상 왕실의 화장품을 담는 용기에는 화려하고 정교하기로 이름 높았던 수입 자기들이 선호되었을 것으로 보여진다. 그러나 수입산 자기가 대다수를 이루는 화장용 자기와 달리 당시 청과 에도시기의 화장법, 화장용기가 다른 점은 조선왕실이 화장문화 전체를 그대로 수용한 것이 아닌 수입산 자기의 애호가 화장용기 선택의 근간으로 작용했음을 보여준다.

The initial tomb of Princess Hwahyeop before its relocation was accidentally discovered in 2015. The burial objects including 49 items of 93 pieces in total were unearthed from the site: the tombstone containing the epitaph written by her father, King Yeongjo (r. 1724-1776), a comb, an ink stick, a bronze handheld mirror and its case, and a set of porcelain cosmetics containers. Cosmetic residue that was presumed to be powder and cheek rouge, remained intact in a few of the white porcelain containers in underglaze cobalt blue; this becomes a particularly significant reference in clarifying the usage of small-sized white porcelains commonly discovered in royal tombs during the same period and the royal beauty culture of Joseon. There were 12 types of white porcelain cosmetics containers in the lime-soil mixture makeup box found in her tomb; all the other containers, except one that was crafted in one of the official court kilns named bunwon, were produced in either China or Japan. Considering that women in the highest position of the country would apply their cosmetics with the utmost care, imported porcelains, which were highly reputed for their splendor and refinement, would have very likely been the preferred choice to store their cosmetics in the Joseon court. As such, the majority of the Joseon royal porcelain cosmetics containers were imported, but still, one of the interesting facts in this respect is that containers of the same kind and makeup methods in Qing China and Edo Japan during the same period were totally different from those of Joseon: this convincingly demonstrates that the Joseon royal women did not accept the entire overseas cosmetics culture as it was, but their penchant for the imported porcelains served as the basis for selecting them to store their cosmetics.